Breaking News: Jordan, Bird & Magic On NBA 2K12 Covers

Trying to create a buzz, 2K Sports took to Twitter with this the other day: “Want to see NBA cover? When 100K different people tweet #NBA2K12, the NBA 2K12 Cover will be revealed.” And while the most common guesses were Derrick Rose, Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin and the Big Three, it turns out it’s none of the above. That’s right, 2K Sports has just announced that NBA 2K12 will offer not one, not two, but three separate covers for the game featuring legends Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

The new stylized NBA 2K12 covers are a unique, one-time departure from the traditional 2K Sports brand artwork, and will spotlight each legendary athlete on his famous team: the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. The covers featuring Bird and Magic will be available at launch in a limited quantity.

“Bringing Michael Jordan to the virtual hardwood last year was a huge success for NBA 2K11; however, we didn’t want to stop there,” says Jason Argent, Vice President of Marketing for 2K Sports. “We’re bringing ‘His Airness’ back to the NBA 2K franchise as part of a multi-year extended partnership, along with two other legendary icons â€“ Larry Bird and Magic Johnson â€“ for a special cover athlete collection representing the NBA’s greatest heroes.”

The cover artwork for NBA 2K12 was created by Adam Larson of Adam&Co. Larson has created dynamic artwork for galleries, magazines and various product advertising campaigns. His work has received numerous honors, including the Kelly Awards, Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, and two primetime Emmy nominations.

NBA 2K12 can now be pre-ordered from leading video game retailers nationwide, and will be available on October 4, 2011, for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP and Windows PC.